


Red Wine. White Wine.

by Vera_dAuriac



Category: The Age of Madness - Joe Abercrombie, The First Law - Joe Abercrombie
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, First Time, Gay For You, Hand Jobs, M/M, spoilers The Trouble with Peace
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:21:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29141436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vera_dAuriac/pseuds/Vera_dAuriac
Summary: SPOILERS FOR THE TROUBLE WITH PEACE"You know, King Jappo, I think we should make this a regular thing.""I'm amenable, King Orso. Once you've beaten your rebels."Joe Abercrombie, The Trouble with PeaceAnd so Orso does, and this is what happens the next time they meet at Cardotti's House of Leisure.
Relationships: Orso dan Luthar/Jappo mon Rogont Murcatto
Comments: 7
Kudos: 6





	Red Wine. White Wine.

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILERS FOR THE TROUBLE WITH PEACE
> 
> These two need to have sex. That's all there is to it.
> 
> I don't own these folks, but as Joe doesn't believe in his characters having good sex, we have to do it for them.

**by Vera d'Auriac**

On this visit to Cardotti’s House of Leisure, Jappo didn’t even bother to close his robe at all. He did have pants on underneath, but they were gold and gauzy, and Orso had no problem seeing every outline of Jappo’s body. The pale skin only made him stand out more beneath the thin material of the pants and against the inky black robe. How was a Styrian so pale? Orso had never seen or heard of the like, and try as he might, the sight of Jappo was impossible to turn away from. Didn’t Orso prefer women? He supposed that he did, but to be fair, he also preferred red wine, and yet that didn’t mean he couldn’t appreciate the occasional white given the right menu.

“So, what brings you back to Sipani?” Jappo asked, holding out a pipe to Orso, which he happily accepted.

“I thought we said when I was here last that we should do this again after I defeated my rebels.” He inhaled deeply from the pipe and shrugged. Through the smoke he exhaled, he said, “And so here I am.”

“You think your rebels are defeated, then?”

“I would say I pretty soundly thrashed them into submission.” It was certainly what he had said often enough at any rate. He never went so far as to say he believed it.

“And so the Young Lion has been tamed.”

Orso rather disliked thinking about Leo dan Brock. His pathetic, broken body made Orso feel queasy. And worse, of course, was the fact he couldn’t think of Leo without thinking of Savine, and nothing in his life gave him less joy these days than thinking of his sister. He shuddered now just at this passing recollection of her and what she had told him shortly before he didn’t hang her husband. By Juvens, but he hated hangings. 

“For the time at least.” Orso shifted uneasily, inhaling once more from the pipe before handing it back to Jappo. Had the muscles of his stomach gained even more definition since Orso’s last visit? He thought they might have. His own stomach felt softer than ever. “My enemies say a wounded lion is the most dangerous animal in the world and I will regret leaving him broken but with teeth intact. My allies smile to my face, but call me a naïve idiot when they think I cannot hear them. I had been hoping for beneficent and merciful, but I suppose we can’t have everything.”

Jappo exhaled a stream of smoke. “I don’t know about that. I certainly try to have everything.”

“And how has that generally turned out for you?”

The grin that curved Jappo’s lips could best be described as filthy, Orso thought, wondering what it was the Styrian king might want at this particular moment. Not that he didn’t have several excellent guesses.

Jappo set the pipe down on the low table in front of the sofa and shifted his way down to Orso’s end, pressing their thighs gently against one another. “It generally turns out incredibly well for me.” Jappo tilted his head to the side and slipped close enough that he could press his full lips to the side of Orso’s neck, just below his ear. It was an eventuality Orso had been expecting ever since he decided to return to Sipani and meet once more with Jappo. And yet for all that, he had never quite been able to decide how he would or should react when this happened. Somehow, even though he knew Jappo had experience and a sensual nature, Orso found himself utterly unprepared for just how good it felt. The man knew how to use his mouth, and if he kissed Orso’s neck this agreeably, well, how good would it feel to be kissed by him elsewhere?

And yet, he still didn’t feel quite prepared for this and he squirmed deeper into his corner of the couch and cleared his throat. “That’s very fortunate for you,” Orso said. “I can’t remember the last time I really got what I wanted. Well, save for that whole putting down the rebels thing.”

Jappo chuckled softly as he pushed himself tightly against Orso’s side. “I would be more than happy to help you get something you want.” He stroked his fingertips down Orso’s chest, across his stomach, and just barely stopped before, well, before he found something that might indicate what Orso wanted whether or not he said it out loud.

“I had thought of talking with you about an alliance,” Orso said in the most even voice he could manage. He doubted Jappo noticed the little squeak in the middle of that sentence. “You have your troubles and I have mine, and something new is always bound to pop up, don’t you find?”

Without even hesitating, Jappo rubbed the palm of his hand over Orso’s growing erection. “You’re absolutely right. Things _do_ have a way of _popping_ up. Why don’t we start with this?”

Orso chuckled nervously. “I, well, that’s a marvelous offer, really, but I’m afraid I’ve rather always spent my time with women, and while, as you can see, I must not be entirely opposed to other options, I just wouldn’t even know where to put it, if you get my meaning.”

Jappo leaned in to resume his assault on Orso’s throat with his mouth. Somehow, even with his lips constantly dragging across Orso’s skin in the most remarkable manner, he managed to say, “Don’t worry about that. I might be lacking one option that a woman has, but I have everything else, and I promise, I’ll find somewhere to put it. And it will be far better than any woman you’re likely to have been with.”

“Really?” Orso answered with a nervous laugh. Jappo had pushed aside the neck of Orso’s shirt and was sucking at that spot that wasn’t quite neck but also wasn’t entirely shoulder, and it made it somewhat difficult to use words. “I have been with some of the most noted professionals in Adua.”

“I’ve no doubt the ladies of Adua are quite proficient, but I think I have something better in store for you.” Jappo’s hand, which had never really left Orso’s cock, moved up enough to tug on his laces. “Let’s get that out in the open and see what I can’t manage to do with it.”

Jappo freed his erection with such ease, Orso thought he might really be able to teach the ladies of Adua’s night a thing or two. His hand was warm, but against the sensitive skin of Orso’s cock, he now noticed the calluses of a man who actually worked with his hands. Jappo’s mother was a famous fighter, but the Circle of the World knew Jappo was her decadent son. However, as someone who had spent a fair amount of time sparring with a parent in spite of his noted lethargy, Orso wondered if Monzcarro Murcatto might not be teaching her son what to do with a sword. An actual sword. Not a metaphorical sword like the one he currently held in his hand and knew quite well what to do with. Orso stifled a cry of pleasure. What had he just been thinking?

“So, this is one place you can put your beautiful cock,” Jappo whispered in Orso’s ear, constantly, agonizingly, stroking him ever so slowly. “Now, granted, this is something you can do for yourself, but so few men take the time to really treat themselves the way someone else will take the time to do it for them.” He twisted as he reached the tip of Orso’s cock, squeezing out a drop of precum.

“That…ah, yes…that is probably true. I’m usually much more efficient about this when I bother with it.”

Jappo licked Orso’s earlobe, and this time, Orso didn’t even attempt to hide his moan.

“Now, I could do this all night, or at least for another few minutes before you finished up, but I did rather hope to show you more than one option.” Jappo slowed his stroke and loosened his grip, but never let go of Orso’s cock. He did, however, finally move his mouth along Orso’s cheek until their lips met. And at that point, there was no longer any hesitation or tease—Jappo pressed his mouth hard against Orso, who gladly parted his lips to let Jappo in. Without even thinking about it, Orso’s body acted on its own, a hand coming up to tangle itself in Jappo’s dark hair.

It felt…good. Very, very good. And much like kissing a woman, with the exception that even Savine had never been quite this forceful. Jappo had shaved very close, though, and his skin was as smooth as any woman’s. Orso hadn’t shaved especially well or recently, though, and he wondered what Jappo made of his stubble. Whatever he thought, it certainly didn’t slow him down in the slightest.

“Mmm,” Jappo hummed. “Now this I really could do all night, but I have promises to keep. Why don’t you work on this,” he said, yanking on the throat of Orso’s shirt, “And I’ll take care of the bottom half. It will make this all go so much easier.”

“And what about you?” Orso asked, his heart racing. “You’re going to strip me naked and keep the robe and those pants on? Hardly seems fair.”

“It really is rare that I’m the most dressed person in any room.” Jappo slipped off the sofa and shrugged out of his robe. All that remained were his pants, which with the lights behind him, left absolutely nothing to even Orso’s active imagination. He pushed the table out of his way and sank to the floor to pull off Orso’s boot before looking back up with a raised eyebrow. “Well? Do your part.”

“Oh. Right. Yes.” Orso fumbled with laces and buttons, and he was doing rather well he thought, until Jappo nudged him to lift himself a bit and then whisked off his pants. Orso was still catching his breath when Jappo swallowed him to the root.

At that point, Orso forgot how clothes and fingers worked, and his arms fell uselessly to his sides. Fuck, if Jappo was not every bit as talented as he had suggested, if not even more so. Had he really been worried about this? Had he really almost stayed in Adua or sent someone else to talk to Jappo so he might avoid this? Why would anyone want to avoid this? He felt actively sad for all the people in the world who would never know the exquisite joy of having their dicks sucked by the lovely Jappo mon Rogont Murcatto, Grand Duke of Ospria and Visserine, Protector of Puranti, Nicante, Borletta, and Affoia, and King of Styria.

He liked it so much, in fact, he really began to worry this would all end in an embarrassingly short time. Jappo not only had all of Orso in his mouth, but he was doing something quite extraordinary with his tongue, and Orso really thought that he would not withstand the sensation of Jappo’s throat constricting against the head of his cock many more times before spilling right down that throat. Of course, instead of thinking of something boring, like Closed Council meetings or taxes, Orso thrust his hips up, deeper into Jappo’s mouth.

The glorious bastard just hummed and dug his fingertips into Orso’s flanks, leaving Orso something of a twitching mess, not sure which way might be up. But then some tiny part of his brain registered that he would prefer if this did not end as soon as it seemed fated to end at the moment. He wound his trembling fingers once more into Jappo’s silky hair and stilled his head.

“Unless you want a mouthful of spend in roughly ten seconds, you ought to take a break from that.”

Jappo licked from one end of Orso’s cock to the other before he let it fall from his mouth, mere seconds before Orso could no longer be held responsible for what it did. Resting his pale cheek on Orso’s thigh, Jappo hummed softly and then twisted to look up at Orso, wet lips smiling. If Orso were ever going to spend just from a look, this would have been it, and he thought this was probably good information to know about himself.

“So, what would you like to do during this break of ours?” Jappo asked.

“Oh, I, well, I guess I never thought about that.” Orso wondered if this was the moment he should offer to reciprocate. Before he had arrived, the question that had nagged at him was whether or not he would want to lavish the sorts of attentions on someone else’s cock that he appreciated having lavished on his. He now realized that he would, in fact, be entirely comfortable with the weight of Jappo’s dick resting in his hand or on his tongue. What terrified him, though, was how incredibly inept he would be in comparison. It would be like attempting to spar with a Contest champion after only ever watching a swordfight, but never seriously picking up a blade first.

But Jappo only laughed and pushed himself up higher so he might swiftly kiss Orso. “Don’t panic. I would hate to ruin your mood. Why don’t you relax and I’ll put on a bit of a show for you? How does that sound?”

Orso couldn’t swallow or speak, but thankfully, he managed a nod. That encouragement seemed to be all that Jappo required, and he jumped to his feet and glided over to a table next to the bed. Orso shifted awkwardly, his cock still hard as a rock and pointing up at him rather accusingly, he thought. But on a table next to him, there was a decanter of red wine and a glass, and he very gratefully sloshed a bit from the one to the other and took a most welcome sip. After a few drinks more, he could speak, and Jappo had sauntered back with a couple of small jars, and Orso had a fairly good idea about what they contained.

“I was thinking that since I took off your pants, you might like to return the favor.” Jappo had come to a stop between Orso’s legs and up against the sofa. He literally couldn’t be closer without crawling onto Orso’s lap.

Orso cleared his throat and tried to answer as though this were the sort of question he received every day, and he found it not strange in the least. “Well, yes. I suppose I could see to that.” With a confidence he did not feel, he reached up and pulled on the drawstring at Jappo’s waist. Whatever force in the world was responsible for pants smiled on Orso, and he managed to untie rather than knot the drawstring. In another moment, Orso had his hands on Jappo’s hips, just above the waistline, his skin warm and soft here. But his eyes couldn’t help following the line of hair down Jappo’s stomach to the prominent bulge beneath the gauzy fabric. Orso hadn’t thought he would ever feel this way, but he saw no reason to deny to himself that he longed to see Jappo’s cock. He took a deep breath and decided there was no time like the present.

Of course, he thought that like a woman he could simply drag his hands along Jappo’s legs with the waistband securely under his fingers in order to remove the pants. But Jappo’s erection, naturally, stopped him. With only a minimum of fumbling, Orso reached inside with one hand to pull Jappo out while the other pushed the pants down. It was a new and interesting sensation to hold another man, and at least in this case, he found it rather pleasant, and wondered what he might do with it if he chose not to let it go.

Orso was, in fact, so transfixed on the cock in his hand, he didn’t notice Jappo reaching out until his fingers lifted Orso’s chin to meet his eyes. “Do you want to hold onto that while I take care of other things? I don’t mind at all, although it will limit my show.”

Orso ran his hand down it, inspecting it a bit. It was veinier (Was that a proper word, he wondered?) and a touch shorter then Orso’s. But it was also thicker, and he supposed it all evened out or depended on what one did with it and that sort of thing. He really could stand to look at and touch it for awhile longer, but there was no need for him to expose his lack of knowledge and curiosity any more than he already had. He ran his thumb across the tip, and Jappo hissed, but then Orso let him go.

“As charming a prospect as that is, I always like a good show, so if you would like to begin.” Orso gestured lazily in that way he did to messengers when he wanted them to speak already. Jappo smirked back at him and set one jar on the table next to Orso’s wine. The other he opened, and then dipped three fingers of his left hand inside.

“Have you ever fucked a woman back here?” Jappo asked, reaching around himself. His cock gave an excited jump when he breached himself, and Orso thought his might very well have done the same.

“I have not,” Orso said, snatching up his wine and taking a healthy swallow. “I’ve always found the more traditional option quite satisfactory.”

“I suppose it is.” Jappo wiggled back against his fingers, his eyes fluttering back in his head. “But I think you will appreciate the difference. It should only take me a minute or two before I can show you. Preparation, you see, is key for both parties to be able to enjoy this.”

Orso drank in the wiry, pale frame as it continued its beautifully obscene dance in front of him. His cock was quite nearly ready to explode. If he had thought earlier that no visual alone could make him come, he was sincerely rethinking that possibility right now. Jappo was gorgeous and wanton and somehow interested in his slightly doughy frame and flopping hair. Perhaps later he would question how he had managed to get so lucky, but for now, he thought he might see what would happen if he merely tried to enjoy it.

Except that he was himself.

“Do you usually prepare yourself, or is that something your partner usually does for you?” Orso asked, wondering if he had committed a breach of etiquette by not offering.

“It depends,” Jappo answered. “There are no set rules, and I did promise you a show. In fact….” He turned around so that Orso could now see two fingers working in and out of Jappo up to their second knuckles. Orso’s mouth went dry at the obscene sight at the same moment his cock stirred against his belly. It really was the most magnificent thing he had ever seen.

And then Jappo pushed a third finger in alongside.

Jappo moaned low in his throat, his head thrown back, black hair swishing across pale skin. “It feels so good, Orso. You should let me do this for you sometime.”

“Yes,” Orso whispered hoarsely and then picked up the glass of wine and drained it. “Are,” he paused to clear his throat. “Are you ready yet?”

“And now you’re impatient,” Jappo laughed at him. But Orso didn’t care if Jappo laughed at him, just so long as he could fuck him. Jappo twisted his fingers and bent his body backward and forward, reaching, looking for something, but Orso couldn’t say what. “Mmm, yes. I think so. The other jar on the table. Put some of that on that long cock of yours for me.”

Orso did not need to be told twice. He knocked over the wineglass in his haste, but luckily it was empty and sturdy enough not to break. But he got ahold of the jar and yanked out the broad cork. This looked more oil than the thicker gel Jappo had put on his fingers. Orso gently dumped a bit into his palm and then slicked it up and down his shaft. He hated to do it, ready to spend at the slightest touch, but if he wanted the finishing touch to come from deep within Jappo, then he needed to make this happen.

“Oh that’s good,” Jappo said, removing his fingers and wiping his hand on a towel he took from the bottom of the low table. “I think I can show you one final place where you can put that, my good friend.”

Trembling, surely from some draft, Orso watched every step Jappo took toward the sofa. He wondered if he was meant to get up and lead Jappo to the sprawling bed behind them, but Orso had to assume Jappo would tell him precisely what to do, and Orso couldn’t say that he minded the arrangement one bit. Of course, Jappo surprised him by straddling him—knees planted on the sofa on either side of Orso’s hips. On instinct, Orso reached around Jappo’s back and pulled him down for a kiss.

And then Orso felt Jappo’s hand on his cock, holding him steady. Orso gasped into Jappo’s mouth as he realized a split second before it happened that Jappo was lowering himself onto Orso.

It was the most exquisite sensation. Tighter at first than a woman, but thanks to the jars, just as slick. Orso buried his face in Jappo’s chest, fingers digging into his back, and he groaned with such joy, he thought the rumble of it might echo out into the world. And then Jappo began working himself up and down on Orso’s cock, and everything went black, and Orso wasn’t a man so much as a mindless thing that felt intensely.

“Oh fuck, this is good,” Jappo said, his hands pressing Orso tightly against him. “Fuck, I’m so glad you defeated that stupid shit and came back. Oh fuck, yes. Fuck, Orso, grab my dick. Just a pull or two, and I’ll….”

Orso snaked his right hand between their bodies and squeezed Jappo hard. That set his hips thrusting faster, and in a few blinding seconds, Orso was spending, barely able to remember he was supposed to be helping Jappo, but apparently, it was all enough, and only moments after Orso’s own climax, Jappo was spilling over their stomachs.

Jappo slouched against Orso, and he held the other man tightly to him. That had been extraordinary. Better than he had even guessed, and he had spent a fair amount of time wondering what being with Jappo would be like since they first met in this room. He didn’t want to seem ungrateful or, worse yet, greedy, but he quickly decided that his next problem to solve would be finding a time when they could do this again. Orso wasn’t sure he would go so far as to say that he liked men now and certainly not that he liked them as well as women, but without a doubt, he liked Jappo Murcatto quite a lot.

“There’s water, oil, and towels over by the bed,” Jappo said. “We could go lie down and clean up.”

Orso finally looked up at Jappo—into his starling eyes behind the whisps of black hair in that beautiful pale skin. “I’d like to wash you, if you don’t mind.”

Jappo kissed him rather sweetly, and Orso felt his cheeks burn. “That sounds lovely. And while you’re doing it, tell me all about what’s happening in the Union and the North. There’s no reason we can’t make business more pleasurable.”

“Very well. Where would you like me to start?”

Jappo wiggled a bit and Orso placed his hands on Jappo’s hips to help lift him up. “Start with the North. I hear a most interesting woman is running the place since the Young Lion and his wolf friend were sent home with tails between their legs by you.”

“Oh Rikke! Yes, she’s really quite something. Not like anyone I’ve ever met. And she likes to surround herself with people you could say the same about.”

Jappo offered Orso a hand and helped him up from the sofa and over to the bed. A basin of water and sponges sat on a table next to the head of the bed, along with other jars and vials. At Cardotti’s House of Leisure, it seemed as though they really did think of everything.

“So it’s a whole court of oddities?” Jappo asked, wiping his stomach clean on a towel before sprawling face down, head resting on a pillow. “Tell me all about them.”

After wiping his own stomach, Orso sat on the edge of the bed next to him and dipped a sponge into the basin. “Well, there’s Isern-i-Phail, who is something of a cross between a warrior, mother, and a witch for Rikke.”

“Sounds not entirely unlike my mother.” Jappo paused to hum as Orso gently moved the sponge over his backside. “And who else? This is the North. Surely there’s some burly Named Man.”

In honor to his name, Orso literally shivered before he answered. “You wouldn’t even believe me if I told you about him.”

“Try me.”


End file.
